The Devil In The White City Analysis

The Devil in the White City attempts to contrast the glorious achievements of Burnham and
Root transforming windswept swampland on the shores of Lake Michigan with the despicable activities of one of America's most vile serial killers. Both entities constructed edifices to exacting specifications: A fair to delight the public and establish Chicago as a world class city and a "murder palace" to satisfy murderous desires. The book shows the loss of America's innocence in both a good and bad way: America was seen as a viable competitor on the world stage and Chicago as a great city but its citizens realized that real evil existed in their midst. The Columbian Exposition would celebrate America's 100th anniversary and hence establish
America and Chicago's place on the world stage. As a World's Fair, the Exposition would both showcase and be attended by people from all over the world. Burnham and Root were chosen to bring the fair to life. Grand plans for marble buildings were soon demonstrated to be impossible due to time and financial restraints so special construction techniques were employed to assemble the required venues with an emphasis on appearance over durability.
There was very little time to get the fairgrounds ready; in fact, many buildings still were under construction until the final weeks of the fair. The construction of the required Exposition grounds and buildings provided an oasis of employment for thousands who would otherwise have been jobless due to the fact that
America was in a depression. Knowing that the huge crowds would attract reprobate elements, a proactive police force was created that would become the model for police forces nationwide. Imagine the beauty of the city at night: White buildings illuminated with thousands of electric lights in an age when most of the world relied on gas or kerosene lanterns. Picture the wonder of the farmer and his family from the heartland watching the acts of Cossacks,
Gypsies, African natives, and the Wild West show. Think of the glory of innovation and industry from the excitement of the Ferris Wheel to the awesome power of Krupp's artillery display. Contrast these elements with the filth, noise, violence, and poverty just outside the gates of the fairground. While the city was growing, a horrible man was using deceit, and a malevolent intelligence
to set about defrauding and murdering women from across the country who were lured to the city to experience the grandeur of the fair. He set up financial scams to fund the construction of a huge building with blind corners, air proof rooms, gas pipes, and furnaces to entrap and murder his victims. He billed his murder palace as a rooming house for his employees and people traveling to the fair. He ran a pharmacy and endeared himself to the community. No

one will ever know how many people Holmes killed both in Chicago, Detroit and the rest of the country; he killed people from as far away as Texas and as near as the people who first took him in. Holmes had an indescribable charm that enabled him to avoid creditors and the police while attracting women to his side. It seems he had quite a bit of talents that he chose to use for evil, having enough medical knowledge to establish himself as a pharmacist. The design of his castle demonstrated some knowledge of architecture as Holmes hired and fired dozens of firms and workers to ensure no one could discover the true purpose of the construction. Characters Holmes burnham clara lovering­ faceless

margaret burnham­ dynamic

minnie and anna williams­ dynamic

Richard hunt­ dynamic

pietzel family­ flat

George post­ round

Benjamin pietzel­ dynamic

Patrick prendergast­ flat

emiline cigrand­ flat

George ferris­ flat fredrick olmsted­ dynamic

literary devices Flashbacks­ Millet was never far from burnhams mind, nor was the event that brought them together imagery­ Twenty three gleaming black carriages stood in the yellow mud on Michigan avenue simile­ The statue of the republic stood like the guardian of the fair, overlooking the midway
Symbolism­ the white lights of the fair represented burnhams efforts to beautify the city while all the flaws represent holms’s struggle to bring it down
Allusion­ “Never before in civilization have such numbers of young girls been suddenly released from the protection of the home and permitted to walk unattended upon the city streets and to work under alien roofs” a reference to the hull house

comparisons

industrial era

industrialization affected urbanization because more people had jobs and areas with factories got a lot more people to that area. Industrialization affected labor as well because more people had easier jobs and were able to produce a lot more products. steam power, water power, machine tools, and electricity helped in the creation of products and factories.
Titans of this era were john d rockefeller who controlled the oil industry, cornelius
Vanderbilt who controlled part of all boating trade, Andrew carnigie who was a widly known philanthropist, and J.P Morgan who was a great financial genius

Progressive era

being progressive means you can make progress such as women's rights and suffrage
The reformists wanted to change the labor laws, start prohibition, and change women's rights worlds fair The purpose of the fair was to spread culture and lifestyles to the rest of the world Things that were introduced
● juicy fruit
● cream of wheat
● PBR
● fluorescent light bulbs
● dish washers
● postcards
● ferris wheel

The novel portrays the worlds fair as a marvel of technology planning and construction